This Is How It Goes

by Neil LaBute

The King’s Head Theatre
115 Upper Street N1
from Tues 7 Sept to Sun 3 Oct 2010 for a 4 week season

In the cast are Okezie Morro, Gemma Atkinson and Tom Greaves. It is directed by Seb Billings, design and costumes by Rhiannon Newman-Brown with lighting by Aaron J Dootson. It is produced by Rooster Productions.

Okezie Morro (Cody) has just played Jerome Kisembe in ‘Ruined’ by Lynn Nottage at the Almeida and as Elisio in ‘Innocence’ by Dea Loher at the Arcola.

Gemma Atkinson (Belinda) has been in the West End and UK tour of ‘Calendar Girls’. She is currently to be seen in ’13 Hrs’ with Tom Felton directed by Jonathan Glendening. She played Lisa Hunter in ‘Hollyoaks’ for 5 years. She has just completed filming ‘The Sweet Shop’.

Tom Greaves has played Paris in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, and Henry in ‘Henry V’ at Southwark Playhouse earlier this year. He was Mick in ‘Our Boys’ by Jonathan Lewis at the Tabard directed by Seb Billings in 2009.

Seb Billings was the Associate Director on the UK tour of ‘Whipping It Up’. He was the assistant director on Neil LaBute’s ‘Bash’ with Juliet Rylance in 2007 at the Trafalgar Studios. He has written two plays and has won a National Student Award for New Writing.

This Is How It Goes is about a young man who moves in with married couple Cody and Belinda Phipps, both of whom were in his class at school. Cody was the high school jock and the only black guy in the school; Belinda was the high school cheerleader. The new housemate's presence in the couple's seemingly stable family life exposes deep uncomfortable truths about all three of them. These truths are questionable however, as the story is being told through the eyes of the young man. As the events unfold and scenes are played out differently, we see both the perversion of the truth and the narrator's mind.

Neil LaBute’s work includes ‘In The Company of Men’ and the subsequent Award winning film in 1997; ‘The Shape of Things’ stage and film in 2003. His play ‘Fat Pig’ was seen at Trafalgar Studios in 2008. ‘This Is How It Goes’ was presented at the Donmar Warehouse in 2005. Neil LaBute’s new play ‘Break of Noon’ will be presented by the MCC Theatre Manhattan with David Duchovny and Amanda Peet at the end of October.